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While in transit at one of the airports, I had to wait 17 hours for my connecting flight in the departure lounge.

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This was because I couldn't enter the city, leaving me with nothing but to wait.

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I won't hide from you that each minute felt like an eternity, passing incredibly slowly.

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I tried to pass the time in various ways: once by attempting to sleep, which fled from me for fear of missing my flight.

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Another time by wandering around the airport and the duty-free shops, and a third by reading a book and watching a movie, and so on.

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With each passing hour, I felt the relief approaching, the imminent takeoff towards the lands of my family and brothers.

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I haven't forgotten the weight of that hour, even years after that wait.

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However, I belittled my own wait when I saw all this brilliance around me.

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Then I witnessed the more difficult scenes of waiting for the children of Turkey and Syria under the rubble as a result of the devastating earthquake.

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A wait shrouded in darkness, surrounded by fear and death, which is the worst witness to await.

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I belittled my 17-hour wait, while I was safe, when I read this phrase:

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"A child rescued from the rubble of his home after 55 hours."

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He was in a terrifying state, where survival was uncertain, something that might happen or might not.

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I belittled my wait, when I knew when it would end.

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But those under the rubble don't know when their wait will end, and their souls might ascend to Allah while they are still waiting.

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Indeed, the security that surrounds us and that we are accustomed to is a blessing that requires gratitude, and the stability we have come to expect is a blessing.

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The home we live in and the natural breathing we do are blessings that only those who have lost them can truly feel.

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And only those who have tasted their absence can appreciate their immense value.

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O Allah, we seek refuge in You from the loss of Your blessings, the reversal of Your well-being, the suddenness of Your punishment, and all Your displeasure.

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O Allah, save our afflicted brothers everywhere.

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Strengthen their resolve, heal their wounded, and accept their deceased among the martyrs, O Lord of the worlds.